Melvin Coy, 25: the first tip-off

The welder was the first person to alert Sean Mercer to the presence of rival Strand Gang thugs in Croxteth.

The father-of-one phoned the killer at 6.40pm when Mercer was in a shop on the Croxteth estate.

After the shooting Coy ­– who split his time between living with his girlfriend of nine years, Emma Hughes, and his parents – drove Mercer to nearby Kirkby, where his clothes were burned.

In court Coy, one of only two defendants to give evidence, claimed his recollection of the evening was poor. He admitted driving to his father's lock-up but only to collect car parts with best friend Gary Kays.

He could not remember what they collected, how long they were there or what they did there.

But Coy admitted speaking to Mercer 50 minutes before the shooting – contradicting the killer's claim he lost his mobile phone the weekend before.

James Yates, 20: the armourer

Yates bought the murder weapon, a 1915 .455 Smith & Wesson, three years before Rhys was shot. He gave it to Mercer after the 18-year-old was tipped-off by Melvin Coy about the presence of Strand Gang members on Croxteth Crew turf.

Yates was charged with possessing the gun, helping Mercer get to Kirkby and destroying the killer's clothes.

On remand, he was moved from a "proper" prison wing after 15 minutes because other inmates screamed "baby killer" at him.

Yates spent his days before being remanded over Rhys's death getting up at midday and smoking cannabis.

He proposed to his girlfriend Leanne Morrey, 19, his "bird" of two years, from behind bars. Morrey supported him during his numerous court appearances and on the third day of the trial arrived at court sporting a sparkling engagement ring.

Yates – who has four convictions for possessing cannabis – jumped from a first-floor window of his girlfriend's house when police arrived to arrest him on April 17. His parents Francis, 48, and Marie, 51, offered a £100,000 surety to secure their son's freedom after being charged.

Gary Kays, 26: the scout

Eighteen minutes after hearing Strand Gang thugs were on his turf, Mercer received a phone call from Kays that significantly raised the stakes. Kays, a joiner, then 24, who drove a £45,000 Audi Q7, gave their precise location to the killer.

After the shooting he joined Coy - with whom he shared a cell on remand - in taking Mercer to Kirkby.

Kays, who banked £2,000 a month from his father's firm GK Construction, denied he was part of the Croxteth Crew. He said there was nothing odd or sinister in his friendship with teenage gang members. They were friends because they shared a love of off-road biking and getting high, not because they were in the gang, he claimed.

Kays has previous convictions for possessing cannabis, dangerous driving, and driving without insurance and a licence.

Boy K – Dean Kelly, 17: the alibi note

On his way to confront gang rivals, Mercer called at the home of Boy K. He wanted the 17-year-old to join him but he refused because he had just bought some chips.

After Rhys was killed Kelly followed Mercer to the home of Boy M where all the defendants met. Kelly was charged with hiding the murder weapon in another boy's loft along with ammunition and another gun.

He and Mercer were firm friends – both were given Asbos in September 2007 for terrorising a sports centre. He gave Mercer an alibi, claiming they were watching a DVD about rapper 50 Cent when Rhys was killed.

Boy M, 16: the cover-up

The home of reclusive Boy M was where the defendants converged as the cover-up began. M dumped Mercer's hat and gloves in his bin, ordered two boys who cannot be named to shift his bike and also knew about the murder weapon being taken to another boy's house.

When he was charged over Rhys's death, Boy M had not left his house for two years. The skinny youngster made friends with the Croxteth Crew when he was 11. He was known to tag along "like a little lost sheep".

"I told him to stay away from them but he didn't take any notice," his mother said.

In 2006 he was beaten up for giving police names of thugs who stole a man's van then shot him in the face when he came looking for it. The experience terrified Boy M, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A video clip illustrating his desire to protect his friends shocked many when it was played in court. In it he attacks his mother for speaking to the police, abusing her and saying she was lucky he did not give her a "crack".

Nathan Quinn, 18: the thug

Quinn was with James Yates when the latter got a phone call asking him to go to Boy M's house. Quinn, who is already serving five years for firearms offences, helped dump the murder weapon and Mercer's clothes in Kirkby. The thick-set teenager was locked up in April with Croxteth Crew mate Kieran Farrell, 16, for conspiring to possess a gun, ammunition and a silencer.

In November 2007, three months after helping conceal the truth behind Rhys's murder, Quinn and Farrell took a taxi to get a gun – a high-powered 9mm Browning pistol – from Phillip Worsley, 28, at his home in Haydock, Merseyside. Police were tailing Worsley, and minutes after Quinn, who has convictions for criminal damage and dangerous driving, arrived with Farrell, officers raided the property.

Inside they found a sniper's rifle, £2,000 in a plastic bag and the pistol fitted with a silencer, which was covered in Quinn's fingerprints.

Quinn, who is listed as his mother Marie Thompson's primary carer in her fight against stomach cancer, was hit in a drive-by shooting when he was 14. Pellets remain in his back, buttock and leg and his attacker was never caught.

He showed no remorse during the murder trial and was repeatedly seen gesturing at and "staring out" the public and detectives who brought him to justice.